The Gap Between Jounin and Kage Narrows
Having been challenged to a spar by Haven, Minato accepted, agreeing to meet her in the Village of Yonshigakure. It was late Autumn and with the departing of the blooms of summer, came the blanketing mist across the entire expanse, which would likely continue for the rest of the year. Minato had been working tirelessly for weeks upon thundergod gates, unable to really engage with his ninja as readily as he enjoyed, especially since the incident with Inkroe. Haven was growing and blossoming into a fine Jounin, the medic nin Hyuuga user, whom had been with Minato since the start. But in the burgeoning weeks, with Minato's instability, he knew he would need to push her further and harder than ever before, if one day, she would be able to work with the others to stop the worst opponent that awaited them: himself. Pre Battle Statement: "A Ninja must learn to see underneath the underneath." - NamikazelMinato. "Do not underestimate me." - Haven Arrival: ~Haven stepped through the Thunder God Gate. A familiar transition that seemed to just tickle as she went through, her skin tingling after she found herself on the other side, standing upon the Yonshigakure bridge. With a quick motion she hopped upon the ledge of the bridge, parking her bottom on the dark, cold stoned edge. Her long white hair flicked against her back in the soft breeze. She was waiting for him, for her friend and Kage. A shiver of excitement ran up her spine and caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. The last time they sparred was exhilarating, but alas, they didn't get to conclude it. Surely though, this time would be even more exciting. With a wide smile on her face she awaited his arrival~ ~Minato arrived in a thunderclap holding a sake flask that he was not holding back in the village. Evidently, he had returned home momentarily, retrieved it along with his thunder god wallet, before coming back to the village, whereby he sensed the chakra of his opponent upon the bridge. There was no acknowledgement, other than the rotation of his hats towards her, a few of the yellow tassels falling and tumbling from his shoulder to fall straight on his back. In truth, he had been feeling pretty depleted of late, but a challenge was a challenge, he conceded, as he raised the sake flask to his mouth and took a deep and soothing draw upon the bottle. Minato watched and waited and unclipping a button on the wallet, he slid a single thunder god dagger from inside and spun it upon his finger.~ Awaiting Deception: ~Haven was pleased to see Minato arrive. She had no doubts he would though. Her Kage was a fierce leader and she knew well that turning down a challenge wasn’t an option when it came to him. Despite the tickling doubts in the back of her mind about how far down this rabbit whole she can go, she felt no fear knowing she was about to face him once more. She noticed his subtle spin of his hat and a smile raced across her face. It was a quiet smile. In a swift change of position, her palms tapped the ledge and she used the muscles in her arms to easily hoist herself from her sitting position to a standing one, her toes spreading against the cool stones as she balanced upon the bridges side with ease. In a few simple hops, she quickly made her way down to the lower level where Minato stood. Her right hand moved up to brush a stray cluster of white hair back with the rest of the style. Finally she broke the silence~ Let me know when you're ready.. ~She would say this is a respectful tone, cockiness wasn’t her thing. Standing tall, she awaited his approval of the beginning; ready to prove she was worth the rank of Jounin.~ ~Minato nodded his head, again, indicated by the bobbing of Kage hats. As he raised the flask and drank from it again, he spun the dagger on his finger and flung. However, quite unusually, he screwed up, and the dagger, instead of travelling at his opponent flew high into the air, on some undesirable path into the mist. He paused, not moving for a second and then opted for screwing the lid back onto his flask and placing it away. His next action was to take the second of ten daggers out of his wallet, spin it and grip it solidly this time. He nodded and then waited, he was ready this time.~ The Byukagan Engages and the Kage Reacts ~She could feel things finally starting to take action. Though her eyes did not leave him for a moment, she didn't want to take her eyes off of that dagger.. Despite the fact his expression would give her reason to assume it was a mistake. She could afford to assume anything. Her muscles tensed, lips parting to gently inhale and exhale. Her body shifted to the side, right foot seeming to point and slide against the ground, arching around and behind in a crescent fashion until it was behind left foot. Knee's bent, her arms followed – her elbows rising to the level of her ribs, and coming together slightly. Her fingers would come together, her wrist bending as her palms faced forwards. Her stance was a familiar one throughout the history of shinobi. Her blood began to rush, eyes widening and she said in a stern yet gentle tone~ Byakugan! ~The opal iris shifted instantly to white. Her sclera shrinking as her pupil-less gaze responded. Thin groups of veins strung like vines from the outer corner of her eyes and the village resembled that of a white, inverted version of itself. She stared intently at him and pondered the best way to approach him. She would need to get in close and fast...~ ~Minato waited for her as she engaged the Byakugan. He marvelled the ability he knew well - it was a fantastic ability of the ninja world. For Minato to win here, to engage with her directly in hand to hand combat was not advisable, and so he weighed up his options and opted for the best action. He completed a fast hand summoning with the one handed seals of Boar ---> Dog ---> Bird ---> Monkey ---> Ram --- Minato ran the end of his finger across the end of his dagger and then caught the end with the hand that had summoned, lifting the blade higher now, to ensure that through the upper-most curve of the fork in the blade, he viewed Haven. However, nothing came at her just yet, but the jutsu was completed and primed and on route.~ A punishing blow strikes the Kage who unveils his fast finish! ~She followed his movements, having not seen him use this jutsu before she wasn’t aware of what he had in store. She focused around the area to see if anything was out of the ordinary but she couldn’t detect anything just yet. The silence was eerie, the mist of Yonshigakure thick over the waters around them. Her movements were quick, muscles in her legs and thighs waking up as she dashed forwards at a speed of about 95mph. The distance was short between them already, merely 8 to 9 yards. Her facial expression never changed as she kept her eyes on his body. Having moved beyond the physical layer she was peering within him, viewing his internal chakra circulatory system, the light green chakra pulsing through the canals. Practically vanishing, she reappeared before him and within that second it would take for her to reach him, she dipped down slightly. . She thrusted her fingertips towards him, skidding to a stop right upon him and focused a blast of chakra , if it was to hit, a chakra point on the left side of his ribcage would be shot. She would also pull that right hand back and return with her left, her body focusing a great deal of her chakra to her fingers and arched it upwards, rising to her full height. If the blow was to hit, it would shoot her chakra towards a channel located between the neck and shoulder. Two hits, if unsuccessful, she continue until it was successful, thrusting towards various locations against his upper torso in a flurry of taijutsu~ ~Minato watched Haven approach, covering the short distance between them with surprising speed. If he was to defeat her here, he would need to engage her momentarily, but with both hands upon the dagger, he would need to jump away and forfeit his work up until now, or stay and put himself within danger. The great news was she had not sensed anything as yet, so intently focused upon him, Minato saw the veins throbbing heavily within her forehead as she closed in upon him, crouched lower than normal. She steered into an attack, her right arm shooting out at his ribcage. The force and concentration of the chakra meant that were this hit to connect, Minato’s internal organs would be somewhat shot. He moved his hand from the dagger breaking his link to his purported technique, to grip her wrist a moment before impact. Haven ground to a halt before him now, the speed taken out of her attack as he held her wrist, but she followed up with the left that wasn’t so potent, because the only weight behind it was the distance her arm travelled, coupled by Minato gripping her wrist and pulling her slightly off balance. So the second left hand strike inevitably hit, but not in the neck or shoulder, but more central to his left shoulder, which instantly caused Minato’s hand to spasm, as his hold upon Haven’s wrist to relinquish. But the hit was worth it. It had opened him up a window of opportunity. The false jutsu he distracted, holding the dagger at her had tricked the byukagan user, as through the mist, twenty feet above them, and for at least twenty feet around them, came the Food Cart Destroyer Summoning Technique. Gamabunta’s enormous body, crumbled half the nearby building as he almost reached the ground. His summoning earlier had brought him forth from Mount Myoboko, and for the duration of Haven’s attack, the large toad had been falling from high within the mist, towards the ground. Minato was unable to move before the strikes arrived for his desire to keep Haven in the central position. To have moved would have undoubtedly caused her to look up, in which she would have seen the descending body. If Haven was to avoid this, she would need to instantly move at a speed of more than 130 mph, to move outside of the influence of the toad’s descending body, from a standing start. Minato smiled at her as he disappeared and reappeared atop the toad’s head, collecting the stray dagger he threw at the outset in his right hand, his left arm immobilised by the strike to his chakra points, as he landed upon Gamabunta’s head, who was now a matter of nineteen-feet above Haven now.~ Haven's Ultimate Defense ~Haven was slightly surprised, but not by much. Before his grip broke from his body she had detected Minato's hidden trick. Her eyes able to see a near 360 degrees around her entire body, upwards was no exception. She realized her predicament though and this wasn’t going to be an easy to avoid. She wasted no time, he was mere feet above her and her ankles took flight, feet twisting and her arms opened, flinging outwards and downwards, upwards. Though she was fast enough to escape, at the height Gamabunta was now, the attempt would be impossible to dodge. Her speed kicked up extremely fast and around her body formed an orb of circulating chakra. She began to expel a large amount of chakra from her tenketsu and from below she could be heard yelling forth~ "Hakkeshou Kaiten - Eight Divination Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin!" ~Her arms went up as she spun like a top, focusing above. Haven knew she wasn’t going to be able to avoid the shock wave. In her mind she winced, knowing that within seconds she would receive Minato's summoning full force. In that instant, the massive toad slammed down against her, the immense pressure shooting back towards her and her eyes closed for a second, feeling the stones beneath her feet crack and splinter, like lightning moving out around her. The foundations standing around them crumbled and smoke mixed with the mist, all vision around Gamabunta and Minato ended in a large cloud of smoke. Beneath Haven's Kaiten had burrowed her a good 10 feet into the ground, only about a foot or so from the base of Gamabunta's slick belly~ Mmmnnnggh.. ~She grumbled, her left eye closed just slightly more than the other.. a thin line of blood having trailed down her forehead, along the side of her nose, over her lips and inching towards her chin. It took her a moment to regain herself. A pounding pain throbbed behind her eyeballs and she knew it was the effects of the impact. She wasn’t going to let it end like this though. She smiled, and let out a short, soft laugh. Within her mind she was commending him, she knew he was strong. Never once in her mind had she doubted that. But it seemed like they had literally only started minutes ago. And the fact that they could go at each other with such vigour... her thoughts trailed off. She didn't have time to praise just yet. She sprung back into action and stood. Staring up at what darkness could undoubtedly be the stomach of Gamabunta. As she stood, haven could feel a sharp pain shoot up her left leg, perhaps most of the pressure she endured was levelled to her left foot. It was almost unbearable to stand on. Still.. Setting the pain aside, she inhaled. She leant over, torso bending and arms stretched out. Her right arm was backwards, higher up and her left arm hung lower, before her body. Despite the pain, her legs were spread apart, and under her breath, like a subtle chill, she spoke~ Hakke Hyakunijuuhachishou - Eight Divination Signs, One-Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms.. ~She began her assault; she struck twice against his underbelly, chakra thrusting upwards. If her fingers would have hit, it would have sent quick an uncomfortable blast into the giant toad. She struck 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and finally 128 times - Her hair flailing elegantly around her as she shot her chakra with vigour into Minato's summoning. If they all were successful, each would have hit in the exact same location, surely to spread some pain and possible get his big ass off of her~ ~Minato paused on the head of Gamabunta and asked her, “Is she dead?” Gamabunta shrugged and then, within a moment, the great Toad Sage frowned and looked partially up at Minato, and shrugged again, “I think she’s knocking.” Minato channelled through his summoning, but then ceased. He knew the Byukagan lineage and the absolute perfect jutsu to use for now was the Eight Divination Signs, One-Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms. He waited for a moment until Gamabunta nodded. She was finished and Gamabunta remained, although he was not best please and Minato sensed quite sore in the region she had struck 128 times. “You owe me one, boy,” said Gama, as Minato smiled. This battle was now concluded. Minato disappeared from his position atop Gama’s head. Haven panted, injured inside of this pocket in the ground, as a thundergod dagger slid around her neck and paused right at her throat; the only moment she would be aware of it, was in the moment the blade arrived and turned in to hover there. If she was at all aware in the fury of her first attack, Minato had taken a hold of her wrist. That was the moment that spelt her doom and not the arrival of Gamabunta moments later. The application of the mark to the touched area upon his opponent, taken from the dagger he held moments earlier and then placed upon her, was how he was able to move so immediately to her in this position. He held the dagger there for a moment, but instead, turned the dagger outwards, dropping it as with his only arm he took her weight. Her leg was broken and his arm was fucked. “Shall we see to that leg?” Minato offered, “And well done, you lasted double the time with those techniques as the Legendary Tobi did.” With that, he detected a feint appreciation upon her face and they disappeared, leaving for the hospital as Gamabunta smoked his pipe and looked around the area for a moment before popping away again.~